But a sore spot came with less than 20 seconds to play, when Magnarelli snagged a key rebound of a William & Mary three-pointer and was subsequently fouled. He had a chance to extend the Crimson advantage to three, but both of his free throws rimmed out, allowing the Tribe a chance to take back the lead.

“The only way that Pat could have capped it...would have been to make those two free throws,” Amaker said. “Other than that, he was absolutely outstanding.”

As a part of the Crimson’s efforts to move to a smaller, three-guard lineup, the sophomore center Wright didn’t play most of the second half, and his absence was noticeable.

“We have a bad habit of not running any offense, just stalling for twenty seconds,” Magnarelli said. “In the second overtime, we got the ball down low to Keith, and he got two or three quick buckets.”

Wright rose to the occasion when he reentered the game.

He opened up the third overtime with a help-side block of a layup attempt, and a minute later spun and banked in a shot in the post to give Harvard the lead.

“I thought he ran with it and did the best we’ve seen him play,” Amaker said.

Crimson defensive lapses had allowed the Tribe to claw its way back from a 13-point deficit during regulation. William & Mary had 18 attempts at the line in the second half and seized a 14-2 advantage in second-chance points.

But the Crimson ultimately took the win, and relished in the drama of its victory.

“In the past, we’ve lost these types of games in overtime—tough games where it’s back-and-forth the whole game,” Lin said. “I think just being able to pull through was huge for our team.”

—Staff writer Dennis J. Zheng can be reached at dzheng12@college.harvard.edu.